Japan and the United States have agreed to expand education for US service members as a measure to prevent a repeat of a robbery and murder blamed on a US Marine, Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi told an Okinawa policy council. Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki disclosed the remark to reporters after the council met.
The agreement covers education for US personnel, according to the account Motegi gave at the council. The source gives no further detail on what the expanded education would involve or when it would begin.
The case at issue is a robbery and murder attributed to a US Marine. The source does not name the Marine, give the date or place of the crime, or describe its circumstances.
Education pledges leave untouched the status of forces agreement — the pact governing how US troops are stationed in Japan and how crimes involving them are handled — which Okinawans have long pressed to renegotiate. The source does not say whether the council discussed the agreement itself.